“We likewise engaged stakeholders in a level-headed discussion in crafting our Executive Order on mining. The idea behind our consensus we reached: that we be able to utilize our natural resources to uplift the living conditions of the Filipinos not just of today, also of the following generations. We will not reap the rewards of this industry if the cost is the destruction of nature.

But this Executive Order is only the first step. Think about it: In 2010, 145 billion pesos was the total value derived from mining, but only 13.4 billion or 9 percent went to the national treasury. These natural resources are yours; it shouldn’t happen that all that’s left to you is a tip after they’re extracted. We are hoping that Congress will work with us and pass a law that will ensure that the environment is cared for, and that the public and private sectors will receive just benefits from this industry.

There have always been tree planting programs in government—but after the trees have been planted, they were left alone. Communities that needed livelihood would cut these down and turn them into charcoal.

We have the solution for this. 128,558 hectares of forest have been planted across the country; this is only a fraction of the 1.5 million-hectare farmlands to be laid out before we step down. This covers the communities under the National Convergence Initiative. The process: When a tree is planted, the DWSD will coordinate with communities. In exchange for a conditional cash transfer, communities would take care of the trees; some would help nurture seeds in a nursery. 335,078 individuals now earn their livelihood from these activities.

The private sector has likewise taken part in a program that hands out special coffee and cacao beans to communities, and trains the townsfolk, too, to nurture those seeds into a bountiful harvest. The coffee is planted in the shade of the trees that in turn help prevent flooding and protect the people. The company that hands out the seeds are sure buyers of the yield. It’s a win-win situation—for the private sector, the communities with their extra income, and the succeeding generations that will benefit from the trees.

Illegal logging has long been a problem. From the time we signed Executive Order No. 23, Mayor Jun Amante has confiscated lumber amounting to more than six million pesos. He has our gratitude. This is just in Butuan; what more if all our LGUs demonstrated the same kind of political will?

The timber confiscated by DENR are handed over to TESDA, which then gives the timber to communities they train in carpentry. From this, DepEd gets chairs for our public schools. Consider this: What was once the product of destruction has been crafted into an instrument for the realization of a better future. This was impossible then—impossible so long as the government turned a blind eye to illegal activities.

To those of you without a conscience; those of you who repeatedly gamble the lives of your fellow Filipinos—your days are numbered. We’ve already sanctioned thirty-four DENR officials, one PNP provincial director, and seven chiefs of police. We are asking a regional director of the PNP to explain why he seemed deaf to our directives and blind to the colossal logs that were being transported before his very eyes. If you do not shape up, you will be next. Even if you tremble beneath the skirts of your patrons, we will find you. I suggest that you start doing your jobs, before it’s too late”.

A personal blog of Errol Abada Gatumbato devoted to biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of environment and natural resources of the Philippines

Errol has a very extensive and solid experience in various aspects of environment and natural resources management for more than 20 years now. From June 1995 to June 2002, Errol was the Chief Ecosystems Management Specialist and at the same time the Protected Area Superintendent of the Mount Kanla-on Natural Park in Negros Island, Philippines. As the Park Superintendent of MKNP, Errol received several awards and recognition in pioneering the implementation of the National Integrated Protected Areas System, under the auspices of the Global Environmental Facility-World Bank-funded Conservation of Priority Protected Areas Project. Following his seven-year stint in MKNP, Errol served as an independent consultant to numerous conservation projects until to date. He delivered high standards and quality outputs some of which have been published.

Protected Area Management

Errol is now one of the leading and foremost protected area management experts in the Philippines. He prepared the Samar Island Natural Park general management plan, under the UNDP-GEF-supported Samar Island Biodiversity Project. Similarly, he developed the harmonized management plan of the Mount Apo Natural Park in Mindanao, under the USAID-financed Eco-Governance Project. The MANP planning process was a ground-breaking effort in harmonizing the different management plans covering the PA, including but not limited to the ancestral domain plans of the IPs, the PA general management plan and the forestland use plans of LGUs. Errol, along with two other consultants, facilitated the final review and evaluation of the EC and UNDP-GEF-supported project of the CARE Philippines in Mount Isarog Natural Park in Bicol.

Team Leader

Errol was the team leader on several process evaluations for the community based resources management projects of the Foundation for the Philippine Environment. He was also the team leader for a group of 12 consultants on the FPE Rapid Site Assessment for the geo-political and physical profile, biological resources, socio-economic and cultural conditions, air and water quality and governance of seven project sites, contracted by the Resources Environment and Economics Center for Studies. He was the led consultant in the preparation of the program document for Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, including the design of institutional and management arrangements to be implemented in priority biodiversity areas in Mindoro.

Conservation Design and Management

Errol has a wide range of knowledge and epxertise on conservation design and management. He prepared the framework for integrated investment planning of the DENR. As the consultant to the EC-funded Integrating Forest Conservation with Local Governance Project of the Birdlife International and the Haribon Foundation, Errol prepared, too, the forest management planning framework and the forest management plans of three project sites, invoking the Philippines’ Local Government Code as the main policy framework. He was also involved as coordinator for the coastal environment and IEC programs of the DENR in the province of Negros Occidental. The World Bank, through the Laguna Lake Development Authority, has likewise commissioned Errol in designing the participation and benefit-sharing framework for its Community Carbon Fund Project in Laguna Lake.

Local Conservation Area Innovation

In a Darwin Initiative supported project of the Fauna and Flora International, Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, and Polillo Islands Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Errol orchestrated the project implementation by leading the team of 14 international and local experts in delivering conservation outcomes in the Polillo Group of Islands in Quezon province. He developed and implemented the pioneering concept of Local Conservation Area using local governance as the main conceptual framework. The first ever network of 10 conservation sites in the Philippines was declared as LCAs in the three municipalities of the Polillos Islands through municipal ordinances, covering about 10,000 hectares.

On a Personal Note:

Errol is a very straightforward person, and could immediately relate to varying conditions and with people of different cultural background. He has a good track record in leading a multi-disciplinary team and providing and facilitating lectures, trainings, seminars, conferences, and workshops. His oral and written communication skills are excellent. He authored several papers that were presented in conferences and published by various organizations. Errol regularly contributes to the environment page of the Visayan Daily Star, a Bacolod City-based newspaper, while some of his papers are posted in the websites of some local and international institutions. He also possesses both non-formal and formal academic qualifications. He participated in numerous trainings, seminars, conferences, and workshops on environment and natural resources management .